Canada / Africa / Diplomatic Appointments

OTTAWA, Canada, August 2, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today announced the following diplomatic appointments and term extensions:

Louis de Lorimier’s term as Ambassador to the Republic of Mali is extended.

Chantal de Varennes’s term as Ambassador to the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire is extended

Ivan Roberts’s term as Ambassador to Burkina Faso is extended.

Lisa Stadelbauer’s term as Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe, with concurrent accreditation as High Commissioner to the Republic of Botswana, is extended.

Biographical Notes

Louis de Lorimier (BA [Political Science], Université de Montréal, 1979) worked as a journalist for Le Journal de Montréal, programs director for the Canadian University Service Overseas and desk editor for La Presse before joining the Department of External Affairs in 1982. He served abroad as second secretary and vice-consul in Côte d’Ivoire (1983 to 1985), counsellor and consul for La Francophonie at the Embassy of Canada to France (1989 to 1993), counsellor and consul for the political section at the Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Korea (1996 to 1998) and as counsellor for communications and public affairs at the Embassy of Canada to France (1998 to 2002). At Headquarters, he served as departmental assistant to the minister of external affairs (1985 to 1988), assignments officer (1988 to 1989) and director of the Francophonie Division (1993 to 1996 and 2003 to 2005). From 2005 to 2008, he was Canada’s ambassador to Lebanon. From 2008 to 2012, Mr. de Lorimier served as Canada’s ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and Canada’s representative to the Council of Europe. He has served as ambassador to Mali since 2012.

Chantal de Varennes (BA [Political Science and Economics], Laval University, 1982; Certificat [International Administration], École nationale d’administration publique, 1994) joined the Department of External Affairs in 1982 as a foreign service officer. Between 1983 and 1992, she served abroad at the United Nations in Geneva, then in Paris, Caracas and Lima. She returned to Ottawa and worked in human rights, becoming chief of External Affairs and International Trade Canada’s Threat Assessment Unit in 1993. From 1995 to 1999, she was first secretary and consul in Dakar and then returned to Ottawa to work in human resources. From 2001 to 2003, she became counsellor and consul in Algiers and then returned to Ottawa in 2003 to become deputy director in the Francophonie Affairs division. From 2007 to 2011, Ms. de Varennes was counsellor responsible for La Francophonie in Paris. She has served as ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire since 2011.

Ivan Roberts (BA [Economics], Queen’s University, 1979) began working with the Canadian International Development Agency in 1989, in the International Humanitarian Affairs Division, after 10 years of experience in advisory and officer positions with various government organizations, including the Bank of Canada, Agriculture Canada, Supply and Services Canada and Industry Canada. In Canada, he served as senior analyst in the Andes Program from 1994 to 1998, as manager of the Nigeria Program from 2001 to 2004 and as director of the Gulf of Guinea Program from 2004 to 2008. Abroad, he served as first secretary in Harare from 1991 to 1994, as head of aid and counsellor (cooperation) in Lima from 1998 to 2001 and as director of the Senegal Program and counsellor (cooperation) in Dakar from 2008 to 2011. He has served as ambassador to Burkina Faso since 2011.

Lisa Stadelbauer (BA [Administrative and Commercial Studies], University of Western Ontario, 1988) joined External Affairs and International Trade Canada in 1990. Her first assignment abroad was in 1992 to Tel Aviv, and she later served in Hanoi as counsellor, then in Oslo as counsellor and consul. In Ottawa, she worked with the India, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal and Bhutan Desk, the Middle East Peace Process Coordination Group and the United Nations and Commonwealth Affairs Division. Until 2011, she served as director of the Eastern and Southern Africa Division and deputy to Canada’s Africa Personal Representative to the G-8. She has served as ambassador to Zimbabwe since 2011.

Source: AFRICAWIN